7 rules for unincorporated Ulster County, New York.
Verified from official government sources
Small recreational fire pits are generally allowed year-round in Ulster County under NY DEC Part 215 if under 3 feet high and 4 feet in diameter, using clean dry wood or charcoal. Individual towns may impose stricter rules.
Consumer fireworks banned statewide under NY Penal Law §270.00. Sparkling devices are legal in Ulster County, which did not opt out of the 2017 sparkler law. Municipal use restrictions may still apply.
New York does not mandate defensible-space brush clearance around homes like western states. Ulster County and its towns rely on voluntary Firewise USA guidance, especially near the Catskills Forest Preserve.
NY DEC Part 215 prohibits residential brush burning statewide from March 16 through May 14 each year. Trash burning (leaves, garbage, household waste) is illegal year-round. Minimum $500 fine for first offense.
Roughly half of Ulster County lies within the Catskills Forest Preserve, a high-value wildland-urban interface (WUI) zone monitored by NY DEC fire towers. No formal statutory WUI designation like the western U.S., but spring wildfire risk is significant.
New York Executive Law §377 and the 2019 Residential Code require sealed 10-year-battery smoke alarms in all one- and two-family homes at sale or substantial renovation. Interconnected alarms required on every floor and in every bedroom in new construction.
Backyard recreational fires follow the same 6 NYCRR Part 215 rules as fire pits: under 3 ft tall, 4 ft wide, clean fuel only, attended at all times. The March 16 – May 14 brush-burning ban does not affect small cooking/recreational fires.
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